Only Holding On
by Anomy Litera
Summary: Kagome has a dark past... Inuyasha's may be even darker... Can they save themselves in time to save each other? Can love bloom from the shadows? A tale of passage and hopeful love. Please review! Kagyasha Sanroku
1. Late Night

"You sure you know what you're doing?" She looked up at her best friend of four years. Her faithful friend was hoisting her up over a large, ivy-covered brick wall with one shoulder.

"Of course, of course." She waved her free arm, as if it would dispel the legalities that they might break.

Correction. Were going to break.

"We could get arrested for this!" Despite all of her complaints, she dropped onto the other side of the wall.

"You only get arrested if you're caught." Her friend giggled, scaling the wall with ease, "Besides, Keiko got in and out of here without any trouble last week."

"Sango, Keiko's brother lives around here." She was still protesting as they cleverly concealed themselves in strategically placed bushes.

Sango snorted and pulled her loose black hair back into a tight ponytail. "You're such a worrywart, Kagome." She was a year and a half older than her friend, sturdily built and graceful to boot. She was practiced in this art of skulking.

"We're trespassing!" Kagome, the more meek and law-abiding of the two, was making a last feeble attempt at bailing out. She was a little shorter than Sango, had chocolate brown eyes, and raven hair that rested just past her shoulders.

"Psh." Sango pulled out an extra hair tie and roughly pulled back Kagome's hair. The only noise of protest that she made was a small squeak. "Now let's go!" Expertly, she stole away from their private clump of bushes.

Kagome sighed and followed, knowing that her friend wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. They snuck through various kinds of foliage with a quick sort of grace that their classmates envied. Soon, the garden started to thin. Sango held up an arm, signaling Kagome to halt.

"Ready?" She whispered.

"Can we go home now?"

"One…"

Kagome grumbled and dug her bare feet into the soft ground.

"Two…"

They were both poised for the takeoff.

"Three!"

Kagome and Sango leapt from their refuge and made a mad dash for their target. In almost perfect unison, their feet left the ground. For a moment, they were both weightless, blissful. Gravity took hold and they plunged into the water. It was ice cold. Kagome bit back a yelp as she hit the surface and made her way back to the edge. Sango was doing her victory lap around the pool as the lights in the house flicked on.

"Shit!" Sango gasped. Kagome hoisted herself into the cold night air. "Run for it- I'm right behind you!"

She didn't need to be told twice. The teenager jetted back into the darkness, listening to the shouts from the inside of the house and the splashes that told her Sango was getting out of the pool. She didn't look back. It didn't matter that she was fully clothed- with soaking undergarments, shorts, and a loose t-shirt- or that she was barefoot or that the boys who lived in that house were probably hot on their tails. She was flying through the garden. As soon as she hit the wall, Kagome turned around and cupped her hands over her knee. Sango was there in two beats, clearing the wall in one quick leap. She held a hand down to her partner in crime and pulled her up.

"Get back here bitches!"

Kagome didn't look back. Sango merely flipped them the birdie as she jumped off the wall. "LATER DWEEBS!" She yelled.

Safely beyond the perimeter, a faded blue pickup waited. They sprinted to the vehicle and piled in the back seat, all the while squealing, "Go Miroku go go go go! Get us out of here!"

He was laughing madly as he slammed his foot on the gas pedal. The wheels tore through the grass. Kagome turned around to watch the guys who were chasing them jump over the wall.

"Man," Miroku said, "I didn't think you'd actually do it!" He turned hard onto a dirt road, easing off the gas petal.

Sango climbed over Kagome and into the front seat, "Yeah well, pay up."

"Fuck." He leaned forward to yank his wallet out of his back pocket.

"Watch the road, pervert!" Sango screeched. Miroku was digging through his billfold, driving at 50 miles an hour on a dirt road, using his knees to guide the steering wheel. He ignored her until he whipped out a twenty and thrust it into her waistband.

"Was that an invitation?" His lecherous grin spread infectiously. Kagome knew what was going to happen next. She hurriedly buckled herself in.

WHAM.

The car jolted violently and swerved back onto the road. Sango yanked the bill out of her jeans, raising her fist again. "Want some more?" She growled.

"Well, I paid you a twenty." Miroku joked, ducking the next jab, "Besides, you might-," He cut off suddenly when she decked him again. The car jerked back and forth.

"Sango. Please. He's driving. Kill him when it won't kill us." Kagome pleaded through tight lips. Sango and Miroku were the only people she trusted, but she only trusted them so far. Her friend relented and Sango shot into their "daring" adventure.

Kagome leaned back as the words and excited, adrenaline-induced giggles washed over her. There was something too familiar about riding in a car like this. She didn't want to think about it.

The running then. That felt good. The air beneath her feet and the distance between her and whatever was behind her. To just drop everything, leave the world behind.

Leave the fear behind.

The faces were starting to appear again.

"Kagome!"

She jerked her head up. Sango was looking at her worriedly, "You okay? I've been calling you for a couple minutes."

"Yeah, fine. I just… spaced."

"Like I was saying. Spill it, Miroku. You picked that house specifically. Why?" She had turned her attention to the young man in the driver's seat. His hair was short in a suave sort of way, always well-kept.

He grinned secretively. Sango made a face because that was his 'you'll just have to find out by yourself' grin. He opened his month to answer but she interrupted him. "Wait. Let me guess. 'An old friend.' Am I right?"

He raised his eyebrows and purred, "Sango my pet, you know me so well. Would you do me the honor of-,"

WHAM

Kagome was glad she kept her seatbelt on.

"I stopped slapping you because you didn't seem to get it through your thick skull that I hate your pervasions. I punched you three times in the last few minutes. What do I have to do? Rip out your balls for you to get the picture?"

Her righteous anger went completely unnoticed by the perpetrator. He simply replied, "But you don't hate _me_." He sounded touched.

Kagome frowned. They were picking up speed because Miroku wasn't paying attention. "Guys…" Her nervous voice fell on deaf ears.

"I hate lechers. You are a lecher."

"Hey guys…"

"But you don't hate _me_."

"Uh guys?" Kagome braced herself for impact.

"I do."

"Guys."

"But you said you hated my pervasions!"

Once again, Kagome braced herself. "Guys!"

"Because they're disgusting!"

"But you like me!"

"Guys!" Kagome yelled. Two pairs of eyes snapped to her, "I hate to interrupt this whole potential romance, but you've just run two-," She cringed and amended, "three… stop signs. And the speed limit is thirty-five." The needle was inching up to seventy.

Miroku eased his foot onto the break, "Oh." He grinned sheepishly, "Sorry Kagome." His attention returned to a beet-red Sango, "Where were we my dear?"

She grumbled something that sounded a lot like 'shut up.' He chuckled and patted her knee in a completely non-lecherous way. Which was surprising for him. Kagome smiled. They would make a good couple… if they ever got around to confessing to one another instead of bickering.

Miroku, uncomfortable with any sort of silence, blurted, "So whose turn was it?"

"Sango's."

"Yup." She muttered, "Mine. Okay. Miroku!"

"Yes ma'am!" He sat at attention in his seat, clutching the steering wheel right at the top.

"Well?"

After a quick deliberation, he chose. "Truth. I'm driving."

She pouted, "No fun…" Grumbling, she looked back at Kagome.

"Ask him a tough one." She suggested.

"Okay." It took her a few minutes to think of a really good question. Suddenly she snapped her fingers, "Tell us whose house that was and how you now them." Kagome frowned at her friend for letting him off so easy. Sango shrugged, "I want to know."  
It was now Miroku's turn to pout. "That's no fair…"

"All's fair in truth or dare." The girls chimed.

He sneered at them both before taking a turn onto a main road. "That was Inuyasha Nagasaki. Remember him? He used to play with us when we were really little."

"Wait- Sandbox Inuyasha?" Sango asked. Kagome slumped back into her seat again. She didn't know him and didn't care. Her adrenaline rush was wearing off.

"The same. He was adopted or something a few years ago, before the accident." There was a novel between the lines. Kagome frowned and decided she would ask Sango later.

"So why didn't we say hello?" She remembered that Inuyasha was a good kid and suddenly felt bad for trespassing. And possibly givng him the birdie.

Miroku put a hand out to stop yet another blow, "I needed a way to get his attention! I saw him the other day and he treated me like shit!"

She looked skeptical, "You said who you were?"

"Duh."

Kagome smacked him upside the head. "I thought I told you I'm pop your head off if you said that again."

"Thanks Kagome." Sango muttered. "Miroku, it's almost 2. I'm beat. What about you?"

"I'm wet. The seat back here is wet. I want some dry clothes."

Miroku gave a start, because his seats were leather, and couldn't get them home fast enough.

Sango and Kagome lived in a small apartment that they rented from Miroku's aunt. Sango was seeking a roommate and Kagome was virtually homeless. They met and Miroku and Sango became very protective over their stray Kagome. Something about her drew them to her; something about them made Kagome feel a little more at home.

"Kagome." Sango had traded her wet clothes for a pair of plaid shorts and an old tank top. "Are you alright? You looked a little worried in the car." She draped herself over her bed, exhausted from the night's antics.

The girl in question was reading _Twilight_ for the umpteenth time. "I'm always worried when Miroku drives." She was sitting on the bed adjacent to her.

"That's not what I meant." Sango propped herself up on two elbows. "It's alright. You can tell me."

Kagome gave her the best smile that she could manage. "I'm fine, Sango. Really." She couldn't tell Sango. She couldn't tell anybody. Sango didn't know any better because Kagome had never really smiled in front of her or Miroku.

She looked convinced. Sort of. "Night Kagome." Sango threw the covers over herself and turned away, facing the wall like she always did. "I wish you would trust me." Her whisper carried across the quiet room to her sensitive ears.

Just as her eyes fluttered closed, Sango heard an even quieter reply.

"I'm sorry. I can't."

* * *

Oooo. Look who it is, writing fanfiction again. I honestly have no idea where I'm going with this. Keep me posted... as in review... that would be nice. I might even do artwork for this one XD

The title was derived from opening iTunes and setting it on a random song. "Only Holding On" from Eyes Set To Kill. Go figure. More soon.


	2. When Fate Comes Knocking

Kagome felt the light creep over her like a spider. Her skin crawled. _More… sleep…_ her mind grumbled because she was too exhausted to make any noise.

"Good morning sunshine!" A chipper voice echoed across the living space. The apartment that they lived in was open. Because Kagome and Sango rarely went into two back rooms they kept their beds in the living room. The living room opened to the kitchen, where the owner of the overly-excited voice was cooking breakfast.

The raven-haired girl rolled over, "Sango, say those two words together again and I will rip out that cheery little tongue of yours."

"Which words? 'Morning sunshine' or good-," The end of her sentence was swallowed by the pillow Kagome lobbed at her head. She had excellent aim. Sitting up, she puckered her lips.

She smelled waffles.

Sango noticed her attention shift and held up a plate, "They're almost done sunshine. But you have to get up."

"Movie first." Another habit of theirs was to watch a movie the morning after a particularly late night. Kagome was in a Broadway sort of mood. _The Producers _or _Fiddler on the Roof_ sounded good.

But Sango knew her game. Four years of living with a person does that to you. "No. Get up first."

"Movie." She whined.

Lord, how she felt like a mother. "Get up." Her tone was a little more adamant now.

Kagome flopped back down into the mess of blankets beneath her. "No…"

"Yes…" Sango mocked the thin whine that her friend had thrown at her.

"Movie?" Her resolve was wavering. She really wanted a waffle.

Briskly, Sango strode over and ripped the blankets off of her. "Up. We have to open up shop." Kagome rolled over like a hibernating bear.

"Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaghhh…"

Sango snorted. "That's an interesting new noise."

"Mrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrfffft…"

"You did that one last Thursday." She pointed out.

"Excuse me," Kagome grumbled as she set her feet on the cold wood floor, "There are only twenty-six letters in the alphabet." The smooth surface under her feet sent chills up her spine. Padding her way to the kitchen, Kagome picked up her discarded blanket and wrapped it around herself. Their dining table was a small wooden thing that they had bought on sale shortly after moving in. Around it was a set of mismatched chairs; one for Kagome, one for Sango, one for Miroku, and one their landlady had given them as a housewarming gift. Kagome's chair was hard wood with a wide seat. She usually kept a blanket or a pillow handy when sitting on it. Sango's was a barstool that had been sanded down so her knees would rest under the table. Miroku's chair had been purchased when he wouldn't stop complaining that he had to stand up whenever he ate over there. To spite him, it was painted hot pink and had braided streamers on each side. They even wrote his name in princess-y letters.

The last chair was a plain chair. The wood was light and polished. Sango had accepted it gladly- they could always use an extra piece of furniture to fill the void that was their apartment. It was sprucely decorated because they were both barely able to rent and make utility payments. They had a couch and a small beat up television that rested in the corner of the living room. On top of the television there was a combination DVD and VHS player buried under numerous video tapes and DVD boxes.

Kagome and Sango ate their breakfast in a comfortable silence. Waffles were good. Waffles were very good. After a short squabble and a coin toss, Kagome was voluntold to do dishes. Sango popped in _Everything is Illuminated_ and flopped on the couch in front of the television. She ignored Kagome's complaints concerning her lack of show tunes.

"But I want Max and Leo…" She was definitely feeling _The Producers_. Getting no response, she sang, "Just like Cain and Abel you pulled a sneak attack… I thought that we were brothers and you stabbed me in the back-,"

"I'm not putting on show tunes! Let me watch Elijah Wood in peace!"

"Betrayed… oh boy, I'm so betrayed!" Kagome sang on relentlessly, dodging the pillow that Sango lobbed at her. "Something something Caesar was betrayed by Brutus, who thought an accountant would turn out to be my Judas-," The next projectile was a couch cushion that the younger of two did not see coming. Kagome retaliated by wetting her washrag with dirty dishwater and throwing it back. It hit Sango square in the face.

"Loathing! Unadulterated Loathing! For your face-," Kagome changed direction, "Your voice-," She managed to dodged the second cushion, "Your clothing!" And the third cushion sailed past her ear, "Let's just say… I loathe it all! Every little trait however small makes my very-," The not so wet dishrag cut of her rendition of _Wicked_.

"That's it!" Sango growled, looking at the clock, "Come on, we're going to be late."

"Nooo…" Kagome didn't mind work, she just preferred sleep. She put the last of the dishes in their rightful places and drained the water in the sink. "I'm not ready."

"Well _get ready_," came the snarled reply.

Throwing on a pair of old jeans and a beat-up, faded green t-shirt, Kagome quickly dragged a brush through her hair. She still smelled the faint scent of chlorine on her skin. A shower sounded really good right then. But Sango was standing at their door, dancing from foot to foot impatiently, so she splashed a little water on her face and stuffed her feet into a pair of Rocket Dog sneakers. The edges were frayed and tattered from overuse.

"Let's _go_." Sango whined. "We're burning daylight." She gave the emerging young woman a look that said, 'die, slow Kagome.' She led the way out of the apartment, stomping down the stairway.

"My parents didn't harass me half as much." Kagome muttered as she locked the door behind them. If Sango heard, she didn't say anything, but Kagome could've sworn that she heard her snicker.

The shop, _Incense_, in which they worked was about a fifteen minute walk from where they lived. It was a quaint little store that sold all manner of home remedies and magik supplies. The owner was an aged woman by the name of Kaede. She was a tiny Japanese woman with silver hair that was usually kept in a long braid that ran down her crooked back. Her face was withered with time but she had a pair of clear blue eyes able to pierce any lost soul. The store was an eclectic shop, directed towards 'mom and pop' folks and New Age practitioners. It was an odd, sometimes tension-filled balance but it worked.

Sango crammed her set of keys into the back door.

"Ye are late."

They both jumped like kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Kaede had a habit of appearing silently whenever she pleased.

"It wasn't my fault." They both protested in unison.

"Well hurry. Sayura-san will be coming to check her spell. Kagome, please unlock the front doors first. And do not worry about the box. We shall pick it up later." The girl in question gulped. Whenever Kaede made those kind of statements, it never bode well for her. She followed Sango inside and did as she was told. Just as she turned around to go open the register, Sayura walked in.

Sayura was Miroku's only cousin and the only young woman that he had never hit on. She was a natural beauty, in her late twenties. Her hair, like Miroku's, was jet black but she let it hang down to her waist. Sayura was a mousy person- quiet and reserved- quite the opposite of Miroku. Her eyes were large and trusting.

"G-good morning Kagome-san." Her prolonged hours in Incense had left her using Japanese suffixes just as Kaede did.

Kagome would have bitten anyone else's head off for saying that, but Sayura was too sweet. "Hi. Kaede just got in."

She wasn't surprised, "Oh good, I wanted to see-,"

Kaede's voice floated from the back. "Sayura-san, ye can come back here. Yer help is required."

"Oh- Okay." Sayura scurried back behind the beaded curtains. Kagome smiled. If only there were more people like her…

The day was slow. They had three regulars wander in for some basic knick knacks and one couple from off the street. Kagome was sitting on the cushioned stool behind the register, bored. Sango was somewhere in the back sorting shipments and Kaede was off making house calls, something she only did on Saturday afternoons. Kagome was tempted to go pick a couple of New Age books off of the shelves and just read.

She did just that, mentally kicking herself for not bringing _Twilight_. As soon as she flipped open the first book- entitled _Numerology_- the door to the shop open and shut quietly. She sighed, _Of course_. Looking up, she put on her best cashier smile, chirped, "Welcome!" and did her best to not let her mouth drop open.

The customer who walked in was new and drop-dead gorgeous. He had silver hair that was pulled into a low ponytail. His step was slow and deliberate- he looked awkward in the slacks and white shirt that he wore. The jacket draped over his shoulders was black with a tree design on the front. Golden eyes caught hers and held them. Tall and lean, there was a hidden grace in his walk. His lips were pursed in a thin line.

He was silent for a moment, "They said I could find Miroku here."

Kagome was thrown from the loop. "It's… Saturday." She knew that voice. Where had she heard it before? "Um… he's off today."

"Where is he?" The stranger snapped.

She was suddenly very annoyed. "Who the hell's asking?" She knew that voice. But where?

The thin line of his mouth twisted before he snarled, "An old friend, bitch. Now where can I find him?" His nose twitched. Never before had she been so aware of how she smelled. His eyes blazed in recognition. "It was you."

Oh hell.

* * *

Dun dun dun dun!!! Guess who!!! Ohmygosh I was so happy to read your reviews and see all the people on the story alert list!!!! I feel so loved!!!! Hope you enjoy this one... more to come! HAPPY EASTER!

**HeidiBax**- Thank you so much! Here's what happens next! XD

**2White Flame16**- Wow. Thank you!!! I am so flattered (Really, I giggled when I read it!) I had to throw a Twilight reference in there because Stephanie Meyer is just that AMAZING. I wrote more! The thing I like about fanfiction the most is that you can watch a writer progress in their work. It's so awesome to see a writer develop on here. That's what I love most about this site.


	3. Pray For Him?

"_It was you."_

_Oh hell._

"I could have you arrested." He glowered dangerously. "Trespassing." He was over at the counter before she could register what he had said.

Kagome was frozen in her seat. She wasn't quite sure if it was the threat of legal action or his amazingly good looks that had her pinned. She hoped it was the first one.

"You could have caused a lot of problems for me." Staring at his eyes was like staring into a flame. Kagome barely suppressed the urge to shudder as he leaned in to make an emphasis. "I'll let you off if you tell me where the fuck Miroku is."

"You'd have to ask Sango." The words were forced.

His eyebrows went up and the corners of his mouth turned down, "Then where the hell is she?"

He had been rude since he walked in the door. Kagome growled the first reply that came to her head. "Why don't you purchase a better attitude first?" She told him sweetly, her eyes narrowed dangerously.

Now it was his turn to be thrown from the loop. His gaze was terrifying. He hand flew out and grabbed her shoulder. Hauling her to her feet her growled, "You-," Kagome's insides froze. He looked like he was going to pulverize her. Her throat seized up.

"_-little whore." His nails were digging into her shoulders. She was half his size. He could easily kill her. "What the fuck do you think you're playing at?!" He lifted her off the floor and shook her hard. The fabric of her shirt was suffocating her. She amended her statement. He was going to kill her. _

"_Please… Kaguro, please, she just-,"_

_A backhanded slap sent her flying. "Did I ask you to open your fucking mouth, bitch?" He shook the little girl harder. She was turning a light shade of blue. Helplessness muddled her senses… or was that the oxygen deprivation? The corners of her vision started to haze and turn black. She couldn't breathe…_

"OI!" Suddenly she was free. Kaede flew through the front door and made wild hand gestures, "Ye shall not lay hand to her!"

The silver-haired guy turned his head to yell, "Buzz off, old hag!" This fatal movement put his head in perfect position. The beaded necklace Kaede threw landed perfectly over his crisp mane and settled on his neck. "What the f-,"

"Kagome, child, utter a subduing spell!" The old woman commanded.

She wasn't listening. The girl swayed where she stood. "Sit." Her voice was hoarse. "I need to sit…"

The man hit the floor, quite literally. Sango burst from the back room. The scene upon which she stumbled was very odd indeed. Her boss was half-bent over, examining her childhood friend- whose face was planted in the floor- and her roommate was hardly breathing.

"Inuyasha…" As soon as Sango spoke, Kagome's knees buckled and she crumpled like a flower, "Kagome!" She managed to keep the girl from hitting her head. "Kaede, what…"

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!" He was trying to get up, but the necklace held him down. "GET IT OFF NOW!"

The shop owner stood tall and muttered, "Watch the language, Inuyasha." Looking at Sango, she said, "Child, take Kagome in the back. She was given quite a fright."

"OH NO YOU DON'T. WHAT THE HELL DID THAT BITCH DO TO ME?" Inuyasha was still fighting- and losing- to the necklace.

"Come along, Sango. He is not going anywhere."

Sango glanced at the fuming, cursing, hotter-than-hell Inuyasha, then at Kaede, and hoisted Kagome up over her shoulder.

"HEY!" Inuyasha yelled, "SANGO! DON'T LISTEN TO HER!" The two left him on the floor, disappearing behind the beaded curtain that led to the back room. "HEY!" He bellowed. They didn't respond. Inuyasha yelled himself hoarse until he started choking on dust bunnies. "Stupid females."

Boredom

boREDom

BOredOM

Inuyasha drummed his fingers on the dusty floor because it was the only part of his body that he could move without straining himself.

bOREdom

BOREdom

boREDOm

The spell that had placed on him had yet to wear off. He had been lying on that dirty, dust-bunny infested floor for nearly an hour. Sango emerged from the back only to lock the front door. The quiet hum of two voices- Kaede's and Sango's- resonated from the storeroom.

"Damn limiters." He muttered. His hearing wasn't half as good with them on. What the hell where they talking about? Under his thick hair, his ears smarted. "Damn court decisions, damn old hags, damn Miroku-,"

On cue, the man in question stalked out of the back room. He looked so serious; Inuyasha figured he was still mad at him for their last meeting.

"Nagasaki." His mouth was tight.

Inuyasha frowned. Since when did Miroku call him 'Nagasaki'?

"What the hell is the matter with you?" For all the rage, his voice was small. Dangerous. Inuyasha was startled. He wasn't that rude, was he? "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

Honestly, he didn't, although he had a sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with the girl at the cashier. But that wouldn't make sense because Miroku had never gotten that angry over anyone, even Sango. So he answered, "No, I don't."

Miroku's eyes narrowed. "What the fuck is wrong with you? Do you have any idea what could have happened?"

"Hey, she was coping an attitude!"

"Hey, you have no room to talk!" Miroku snapped in a mocking tone. Inuyasha opened his mouth to defend himself but was cut off. "I'm not done yet. I'm still pissed at you from Tuesday."

There was a small pause. "I didn't…"

"I want to hear a good explanation, Inuyasha, or I'll have Kagome keep you pinned to that floor." His voice was still quiet with anger.

"That bitch-,"

"And you speak like that again, I'm going to find the worst thing I can do to you and do it." Miroku said thoughtfully, "I may keep you pinned down here and call a certain older brother…"

"Okay, okay! Just let me up so I can get out of this stinking store!"

The twinkling of beads signaled an emergence from the back, "Not so fast, Inuyasha. Yer presence is required. In any case, the spell shall not be lifted for," A quick glance and the clock and a little math-in-public hitched her sentence, "another 12 minutes. Please be patient." Kaede walked past him briskly and gathered a few bottles from one of the shelves. "Miroku."

"Yes, Ms. Kaede?"

"When a customer wearing a Wisconsin cheese hat arrives, please show him to the back door." Both men looked at the old woman, clearly puzzled, and decided not to ask.

Exactly eight and a half minutes later, a rather pudgy man arrived at the door with a Wisconsin cheese hat. He looked disgruntled when he tried the door and relieved when he saw Miroku jumping up to open the door. Miroku disappeared with the man for a moment or two, and came back through the shop to lock the front door again.

Three more minutes…

Two more minutes…

Somewhere in the back, tearing skin broke the silence, followed by a loud yelp.

One more minute…

"Kai," came a soft whisper. There was a rustling of sheets and the general creeks and squeaks of someone getting off of an old bed. Cheese hat guy passed by the front window again, holding the absurd hat in right hand and rubbing his skull with his left. The back door opened and closed quietly.

"She's gone." Sango muttered, coming into the storefront, "I hope you're happy, Inuyasha." At least she was using his first name. "Do you have any idea of how long it'll be before I can get her to talk normally again?"

"Where's-," He hauled himself to a sitting position.

"Miroku went after her. He runs faster than I do."

From the tone of her voice and the look on her face, something told Inuyasha that Sango was far from joking.

"What happened to you?" She asked, taking advantage of his silence. "You up and disappeared on us without as much as a word." She was… annoyed? Worried? He couldn't tell. "And then you and Miroku happen to meet each other God knows where and he has me and Kagome go jump in your pool on a dare because you did something to piss the guy off…"

Inuyasha rubbed the back of his neck. The skin was raw from whatever spell the necklace had. "It's none of your fucking business, Sango." He yanked at the necklace, determined to tear it off. He wanted to smash each individual bead in revenge.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tugged, the damn thing would not come off.

"It is of no use, Inuyasha." Kaede reentered from the back. "Kagome is the only one who can remove those beads. She is bound to remove them should it be what is ordained." The wrinkly-set orbs traveled up to his golden ones. "As it is, ye are in for the long haul."

"Keh." He could live with that stupid necklace if he didn't have to bother with that stupid girl again. "As if."

"I think ye'll be begging her to take it off within the month."

He snorted, "Oh yeah?"

"Oh yes. Sit."

The beads light up purple and promptly pulled him to the floor. Choking, Inuyasha growled, "THE HELL?!" He was still struggling with the accessory. The accessory was winning again.

"And to think, Kagome is the only one who can release this. Ye better hope Miroku finds her." Sango smirked as Kaede walked back into her storeroom. She had definitely detected a note of glee in the old woman's voice.

Instead of Inuyasha cursing his mouth, he cursed the girl who was running as far as she could from _Incense_.

**

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Chapter 3 done! I feel amazing! Your reviews are so inspiring and I love to hear from you all!!! Reviews make more chapters (hint hint). Sorry for the delay; I am the assisstant stage manager for the Sound of Music at a local production, so I have no free time at the moment. Chapter 4 is pending but will be coming to fanfiction near you soon!

**2White Flame16- **It is indeed your name! (giggles) And here it is again! Thank you so much!

**Alexissssss**- Of course Twilight! (grins) Thank you very much! I hope you enjoyed this chappie!

**InuXKag4ever11**- There was nothing else to say but 'Oh hell.' Poor Kagome. XD I'm so mean to her… let's see how mean I am to Inuyasha. (heh) Thank you very much!


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